Abstract - The South African species Euparkeria capensis is of great importance for understanding the early radiation of archosauromorphs (including archosaurs) following the Permo–Triassic mass extinction, as most phylogenetic analyses place it as the sister taxon to crown group Archosauria within the clade Archosauriformes. Although a number of species from Lower–Middle Triassic deposits worldwide have been referred to the putative clade Euparkeriidae, the monophyly of Euparkeriidae is controversial and has yet to be demonstrated by quantitative phylogenetic analysis. Three Chinese taxa have been recently suggested to be euparkeriids: Halazhaisuchus qiaoensis, ‘Turfanosuchus shageduensis’, and Wangisuchus tzeyii, all three of which were collected from the Middle Triassic Ermaying Formation of northern China. Here, we reassess the taxonomy and systematics of these taxa. We regard Wangisuchus tzeyii as a nomen dubium, because the holotype is undiagnostic and there is no convincing evidence that the previously referred additional specimens represent the same taxon as the holotype. We also regard ‘Turfanosuchus shageduensis’ as a nomen dubium as we are unable to identify any diagnostic features. We refer the holotype to Archosauriformes, and more tentatively to Euparkeriidae. Halazhaisuchus qiaoensis and the holotype of 'Turfanosuchus shageduensis’ are resolved as sister taxa in a phylogenetic analysis, and are in turn the sister taxon to Euparkeria capensis, forming a monophyletic Euparkeriidae that is the sister to Archosauria+Phytosauria. This is the first quantitative phylogenetic analysis to recover a non-monospecific, monophyletic Euparkeriidae, but euparkeriid monophyly is only weakly supported and will require additional examination. Given their similar sizes, stratigraphic positions and phylogenetic placement, the holotype of ‘Turfanosuchus shageduensis’ may represent a second individual of Halazhaisuchus qiaoensis, but no apomorphies or unique character combination can beidentified to unambiguously unite the two. Our results have important implications for understanding the species richness and palaeobiogeographical distribution of early archosauriforms.

This is currently free from the Palaeontology Online website.Niedźwiedzki, G., Brusatte, S. L., Sulej, T., and R. J. Butler. 2014. Basal dinosauriform and theropod dinosaurs from the mid–late Norian (Late Triassic) of Poland: implications for Triassic dinosaur evolution and distribution. Palaeontology 57(6): 1121–1142 DOI: 10.1111/pala.12107Abstract - The rise of dinosaurs during the Triassic is a widely studied evolutionary radiation, but there are still many unanswered questions about early dinosaur evolution and biogeography that are hampered by an unevenly sampled Late Triassic fossil record. Although very common in western North America and parts of South America, dinosaur (and more basal dinosauriform) remains are relatively rare in the Upper Triassic deposits of Europe, making any new discoveries critically important. One of the most diverse dinosauriform assemblages from Europe comes from the Poręba site in Poland, a recently described locality with exposures of the Zbąszynek Beds, which have a palynomorph assemblage characteristic for the mid–late Norian in the biostratigraphic schemes of the Germanic Basin. Using a synapomorphy-based approach, we evaluate several isolated dinosauriform specimens from Poręba. This assemblage includes a silesaurid, a herrerasaurid and remains of another type of theropod (potentially a neotheropod). The Poręba herrerasaurid is the first record of this rare group of primitive dinosaurs from Europe and one of the youngest records worldwide, whereas the silesaurid is the youngest record of a silesaurid from Europe. These findings indicate that silesaurids persisted alongside true dinosaurs into the mid–late Norian of Europe and that silesaurid–herrerasaurid–neotheropod assemblages (which are also known from the Norian of North America, at low latitudes) were more widespread geographically and latitudinally than previously thought. Silesaurid–herrerasaurid–neotheropod assemblages may have been a common ecological structuring of dinosaurs during their early evolution, and their widespread distribution may indicate weak palaeolatitudinal controls on early dinosaur biogeography during the latest Triassic.

Dr. Ruth L. (Jessie) Elder passed away earlier this month at the age of 60. Dr. Elder is best known in the vertebrate paleontology community for her work on the Triassic vertebrate fauna from the Dockum Group near Otis Chalk, Texas. The purported rhynchosaurian Otischalkia elderae is named in her honor.

Abstract - A new species of the erythrosuchid archosauriform reptile Garjainia Ochev, 1958 is described on the basis of disarticulated but abundant and well-preserved cranial and postcranial material from the late Early Triassic (late Olenekian) Subzone A of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of the Burgersdorp Formation (Beaufort Group) of the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The new species, G. madiba, differs from its unique congener, G. prima from the late Olenekian of EuropeanRussia, most notably in having large bony bosses on the lateral surfaces of the jugals and postorbitals. The new species also has more teeth and a proportionately longer postacetabular process of the ilium than G. prima. Analysis of G. madiba bone histology reveals thick compact cortices comprised of highly vascularized, rapidly forming fibro-lamellar bone tissue, similar to Erythrosuchus africanus from Subzone B of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone. The most notable differences between the two taxa are the predominance of a radiating vascular network and presence of annuli in the limb bones of G. madiba. These features indicate rapid growth rates, consistent with data for many other Triassic archosauriforms, but also a high degree of developmental plasticity as growth remained flexible. The diagnoses of Garjainia and of Erythrosuchidae are addressed and revised. Garjainia madiba is the geologically oldest erythrosuchid known from the Southern Hemisphere, and demonstrates that erythrosuchids achieved a cosmopolitan biogeographical distribution by the end of the Early Triassic, within five million years of the end-Permian mass extinction event. It provides new insights into the diversity of the Subzone A vertebrate assemblage, which partially fills a major gap between classic ‘faunal’ assemblages from the older Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone (earliest Triassic) and the younger Subzone B of the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone (early Middle Triassic).

Abstract - A principal component analysis (PCA) performed for a set of 24 measurements on 33 femora and 15 measurements on 20 ilia of Silesaurus opolensis from the early Late Triassic of Krasiejów, southern Poland, shows that this sample is highly variable but probably monospecific. Most of the morphological variation is concentrated in the muscle attachments and proportions of bones, which significantly change in both size and position during ontogeny. Despite the small sample size, femora of smaller individuals have less flattened shafts and a more sinusoidal appearance. In many large specimens, proximal parts of muscle tendons are ossified at their attachment site on femora and remain attached to the bone in the largest specimens. The specimens with attached ossifications are interpreted as mature females that were statistically larger than proposed males. It is suggested that ossifications developed in females under calcitonin control. The intrapopulation variability of ilia is high, but less dependant on ontogeny. The population represented by a few specimens from the lower level at Krasiejów may represent a different stage in the evolution of the species than that from the upper horizon.

Abstract - The incompleteness of the fossil record obscures the origin of many of the more derived clades of vertebrates. One such group is the Ichthyopterygia, a clade of obligatory marine reptiles that appeared in the Early Triassic epoch, without any known intermediates. Here we describe a basal ichthyosauriform from the upper Lower Triassic (about 248 million years ago) of China, whose primitive skeleton indicates possible amphibious habits. It is smaller than ichthyopterygians and had unusually large flippers that probably allowed limited terrestrial locomotion. It also retained characteristics of terrestrial diapsid reptiles, including a short snout and body trunk. Unlike more derived ichthyosauriforms, it was probably a suction feeder. The new species supports the sister-group relationships between ichthyosauriforms and Hupehsuchia, the two forming the Ichthyosauromorpha. Basal ichthyosauromorphs are known exclusively from south China, suggestingthat the clade originated in the region, which formed a warm and humid tropical archipelago in the Early Triassic. The oldest unequivocal record of a sauropterygian is also from the same stratigraphic unit of the region.

Abstract - Ornithosuchidae is a group of Late Triassic pseudosuchian archosaurs of controversial phylogenetic affinities. This clade currently comprises three taxa: Venaticosuchus rusconii and Riojasuchus tenuisceps, both from Argentina, and Ornithosuchus longidens, from Scotland. V. rusconii was erected on the basis of an incomplete skull with articulated lower jaws and some elements of the postcranium that are currently lost. Venaticosuchus rusconii is redescribed here and included for the first time in a phylogenetic analysis to test its affinities with ornithosuchids. The bizarre morphology of V. rusconii has a unique combination of traits that distinguishes it from the other ornithosuchids, such as basipterygoid processes directed ventrally, dentary with the dorsal margin of the anterior end dorsally expanded, articular without a foramen on its medial side, and the absence of a surangular foramen, corroborating the validity of this taxon. V. rusconii is recovered as an ornithosuchid more closely related to R. tenuisceps than to O. longidens, based on the presence of a nearly pointed anterior margin of the antorbital fenestra, and a vertical bony strut of the jugal that separates the antorbital fenestra from the infratemporal fenestra.

Abstract - The presence of early pseudosuchians and avemetatarsalians in Anisian beds of Africa demonstrates that the archosaur radiation was well underway by the beginning of the Middle Triassic. The rapid radiation produced a variety of forms, but many of the unique, well-diagnosedLate Triassic clades (e.g., Aetosauria, Ornithosuchidae) lack diagnosable members from the Middle Triassic. Here, we introduce a new Middle Triassic archosaur, Nundasuchus songeaensis, gen. et sp. nov., with an unusual mix of apomorphic character states found within Pseudosuchia and just outside Archosauria. The holotype consists of partial skeleton, including representative postcranial elements and parts of the skull. We added Nundasuchus songeaensis, gen. et sp. nov., into the two most comprehensive early archosaur phylogenetic data sets available, and in both analyses the new taxon falls within Pseudosuchia. However, a number of plesiomorphic archosaurian character states (e.g., posterolaterally directed tuber of the calcaneum) optimize as local autapomorphies of the new taxon within Pseudosuchia in our analyses. Therefore, we tested alternative hypotheses of relationships for the new taxon by utilizing constraint trees. The analyses resulted in little change in the relationships and structure of other Triassic archosaur clades, but changed optimizations of certain character states and character support at the base of Pseudosuchia and Archosauria. Our analyses suggest that thecomplex evolution of character-state changes at the base of Archosauria is inhibiting our understanding of the relationships of early Pseudosuchia and, in turn, Archosauria.

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About Me

My name is Bill Parker and I am a paleontologist in northeastern Arizona. While my day job mainly involves roaming the badlands of Petrified Forest National Park picking up bit after bit of phytosaur scrap (and finding some good stuff in-between), thus my main focus is the paleontology of the Triassic Period. However, I also have a very strong interest in Civil War history, and am a direct descendent of veterans who fought on both sides. Note: This is a personal site and all posts are my own opinions and do not represent the opinions of the National Park Service.